This application claims the priority of German application 198 48 651.0, filed in Germany on Oct. 22, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a sleeve for guiding a cable bundle through a body opening. Preferred embodiments of the invention are especially useful in automobile manufacture.
Sleeves of this kind are known with a variety of designs and as a rule guide a cable bundle straight through a body opening, in other words perpendicularly to a body surface. Cable sleeves are likewise known that are bent on one side, so that the cable bundle enters straight on one side of the body opening to emerge on the other side bent at an angle and now parallel to the body surface.
By contrast with this prior art, a goal of the invention is to provide a sleeve for a cable bundle that permits the cable bundle to enter and exit at an angle.
This goal is achieved according to the invention by providing a sleeve for a cable bundle for insertion into a body opening with a plug matching the body opening and a bent sleeve section on one side of the plug, wherein a straight sleeve section is provided on an opposite side of the plug, said straight sleeve section having a retainer to secure the straight sleeve section to a body.
For this purpose, it is proposed, on a matching plug at the body opening, to locate a bent sleeve section on one side and a straight sleeve section on the other, with a retainer being provided on the straight sleeve section to secure the straight sleeve section to the body. In an advantageous manner, it is possible with a sleeve of this kind to guide a cable bundle parallel to the body surface on both the inlet and outlet sides. The fact that only one of the two sleeve sections is bent at an angle allows the sleeve according to the invention to be manufactured simply and economically, since only two cores are required to produce the sleeve by the injection method: a first core extends through the straight sleeve section up to a knee of the bent sleeve section and a second core extends from the outlet of the second sleeve section up to the knee, where it can abut the first core. Despite the straight shape of the second sleeve section, the cable bundle is guided reliably parallel to the body surface, since as a result of the retainer provided on the second sleeve section, this section is bent after assembly and is aligned parallel to the body surface on the exit side.
Advantageous features of preferred embodiments of the invention are described herein and in the claims.
It is proposed to mold the retainer on the straight sleeve section. In this manner, no further production or worksteps are required to manufacture the retainer other than the process for manufacturing the sleeve.
It is also proposed to provide the area where the straight sleeve section abuts the plug with folds. As a result of this design, a specific bent area is produced that both clearly establishes the location of the bend and also ensures that no increased material stresses and hence possible material tears occur in the bent area of the straight sleeve section.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.